#1999. Moving and Grooving with Tempo

Music, level: Elementary
Posted Sun Nov 12 16:59:58 PST 2000 by Stephanie (Watty18@hotmail.com).
Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, PA
Materials Required: Poster, Signs with the words slow and fast, Cassette of recordings, and cassette player
Activity Time: 20-30 minutes
Concepts Taught: Tempo: The rate of music (slow and fast)

Moving and Grooving with Tempo
Tempo - Grade 1

I. Objectives:
- The learner will be able to repeat various movements.
- The learner will be able to state the definition of tempo.
- The learner will be able to distinguish between a slow tempo and a fast tempo.

II. Materials:
* Poster
* Signs with the words slow and fast
* Cassette of recordings
* Cassette player

III. Procedure:
A. Introductory Activity: The teacher will begin the lesson by asking the students to stand up and spread out away from the others around them. The teacher will then instruct the students to repeat his/her actions. The teacher will perform a variety of movements at different paces. For example, the teacher will begin by walking in place very slowly and then gradually get faster until he/she is running in place. After a few examples, the teacher will ask the students if they noticed anything about the movements. This question will lead into the teacher explaining that just as our movements varied from slow speeds to fast speeds, music also involves different speeds.

B. Principal Activity: The teacher will explain the meaning of tempo. He/she will refer to a poster and state the definition of tempo, which is the rate of speed of music. After helping the students understand the meaning of tempo, the teacher will test their understanding by playing different tempos of music, which the students will identify as either slow or fast. The students will hold up a sign with the word slow for a slow tempo and hold up the word fast for a fast tempo.

C. Concluding Activity: The students will form a circle and play the music detective game. This game involves one student, who is the detective, sitting in the middle of a circle with their eyes covered. The teacher will then point to another student, designated as the leader. Using body movements, the leader will demonstrate a certain pattern with a variety of tempos. The rest of the students will repeat the leader's pattern. Once the students have completed the pattern, the student who is the detective will open his/her eyes and try to guess who the leader was. After several rounds of the detective game, the teacher will have the students state the definition of tempo together with him/her. Finally, the teacher will ask if there are any questions.

IV. Evaluation:
- The students will be able to repeat various movements.
- The students will have a good understanding of the meaning of tempo.
- The students will understand and be able to recognize the variations of tempo in
music.